The Goo 1
Live Reviews Beak - Button Factory - Adhamh O’Cao
imh Shadowy blue light hung over a light sign that read: “Now you feel fantastic. You are feeling new freedom. Today you are alive.” Thanks once again to Foggy Notions, we are. L I T R O N I X, the explosive and dynamic future pop project from the mind of Los Angeles native Kevin Litrow started out with a bang, an 80’s action movie drenched with triumphant keyboard pads, huge electronic drums and a soaring guitar solo. A stellar set followed, a strange and modern take on Talking Heads through the lens of Bret Easton Ellis, a sinister vision of the sunshine state. For their final Irish show with founding member, Geoff Barrow, the Bristol Trio kicked off with “Strawberry Line” before Barrow let the crowd know they were going to play the entirety of “>>>>’, followed by “the hits”. Throughout, Barrow was hilarious, whilst Billy Fuller and Will Young tore through the cuts from one of the best records of 2024, blistering renditions of ‘Cellophane’ and ‘Hungry Are We’, punctuated by their celebrated drummer making shite of cyclists, his London boy synth player and the death of the music industry, with a short a passionate show of support for Palestine. Closing out with some classic Beak cuts, like ‘Allé Sauvage’ and ‘Blagdon Lake’, one of the best bands to come out of Britain in the past decade lead this lucky writer’s year to a mighty close. The Jesus Lizard (Night One) – The Button Factory - Aaron Kavanagh I’ve been the biggest fan of the Texas-by-way-of-Chicago noise band The Jesus Lizard for many years now, and I never thought I would have the opportunity to see them live. In 1999, after a decade of performing, the band called it quits before regrouping in 2008 and splitting again two years later. In 2009, the band performed at The Button Factory; a gig that I still kick 28 myself for being too young and unfamiliar with their music to go to at the time. They regrouped again in 2017 but didn’t play outside the U.S. Then the pandemic halted touring for about three years. Last year, they released their first album since 2000, Rack, and announced a world tour, and, by the grace of God, this included some shows in Ireland. Now in his mid- 60s, frontman David Yow still crowdsurfs and jumps around with vigour, though given the passage of time, he does take a seat (or “loose stool,” as he puts it) for a tune at one point. The palpitating, high-octane energy that The Jesus Lizard’s music instils (the one that makes you feel like you’ve had an adrenaline shot during a panic attack) is still palpable, thanks to the members’ persistent earnestness and the event’s setting. What I love about The Button Factory, and why I consider it one of my favourite venues in the city, is that its stage and tech provide the theatrical grandeur of The Olympia or Vicar Street, while the floor and balcony have the club density of Whelan’s or The Academy. This allows more niche acts to give “an event” (as opposed to “a gig”) to an appreciative audience, and that’s exactly what I felt here. What a first gig of 2025! Rise Against - The 3Olympia - Ali Fartukh The theatre hall was quickly filled with voices singing in unison to Rise Against’s biggest hits, starting the night off with their song Satellite. The set list suddenly took an emotional turn as Tim McIlrath announced a meaningful song from their seventh studio album, Tragedy + Time, and the crowd continued to sing through touching tears (myself included). The band wasn’t shy to pause their music and have a few moments to trade stories with the crowd, reminiscing on their first time in Dublin in 2009 and even got to reacquaint with the singer of a local band that opened for them that year in the crowd, The Demise, or ‘The Decline’ as Tim